So there I was making the Shepard's Pie recipe from Craftbeer.com which calls for mashed potatoes with some milk added. I usually use heavy cream. I get done and look at the leftover cream in the small jug and the stand mixer and my mind wanders to the Alton Brown episode on making butter.

I had to do it!

It was so easy. However, I will warn you that once the butter separates from the water the water will start to fly EVERYWHERE!

After that got cleaned up I poured off the whey(?) and added a bit of salt and put back in the mixer with a different attachment (That won't cause me to clean everything in a 5 foot radius) to blend it in and separate a bit more water.

The Shepard's Pie was done by then and the fresh butter went right on the bread.

Delicious!

And so easy! Next time I do it in the food processor...

I put the whisk attachment on the stand mixer and started it on slow and put foil around it to keep the splashing to a minimum, then I turned it back up on high. After it got thick I stupidly removed the foil. Of course, like a boil over, as soon as I turned my back it started throwing water all over the place.

Everyone liked the butter, but I can't honestly say it's any better than the store bought stuff. As good as, maybe. I just can't tell the difference.

I know it's hard as a rock from the fridge. AB had a recipe for whipped butter that I might mix up. Otherwise I just put a small bit of it on the counter to keep it soft. That way it won't all go bad from sitting out.

Not sure it's cost effective to make it, but I have a few recipes that call for heavy cream and I might buy a larger container from now on and use what I need and make butter from the excess.